Angel Kisses- The Whole Story Deluxe Edition
by VanillaMocha01
Summary: Young Applejack comes home, and she has tears in her eyes. Luckily, a certain pony has a cure for tears, and a bandage for broken hearts. This is the whole story of Angel Kisses- Prequel to Sequel.
1. 9 Hours Earlier

9 Hours Earlier

9 Hours Before "Angel Kisses"

Young Applejack looked out her bedroom window at the land below. The wide open fields that provided so much room to run around in... the plants that thrived, the animals that grazed. All she could really see of anything, however, was the silhouettes- the sun had not yet risen, but she was awake.

The warm August air came blowing in gently through her open window, as if helping her to wake up. But she didn't need help- the excitement that was cooped up inside her was about to be released, and that caused even more hype.

A knock was heard on her bedroom door. Young Applejack quickly jumped back in bed and pulled the covers up to her nose. Closing her eyes, she heard another knock. Thump, thump thump. Before the little filly could move, the door squeaked open. Slow hooves were heard, getting closer to Applejack.

"Good mornin' there, sugarcube!" It was an older mare's voice.

Applejack pretended to yawn, and sat up in bed. "Mornin'."

"Ya' sleep tight last night? Eh see ya' left yer window open all night." The older pony went to close the window that Applejack had previously opened this morning.

"Oh, uh... yeah, I did." The sheepish looking filly replied.

"Well, you'd better git down there in the kitchen fer breakfast- today's yer first day of school, and I don't want ya' to be tardy!" The older mare smiled, heading towards the hallway.

"I will, Granny!" Applejack replied. As soon as the older mare was gone, she jumped out of bed as fast as she had gotten in it only minutes ago, and fixed the sheets. Afterwards she combed her mane and tail and put in her red hair ties. Then, she ran down the stairs and took her normal seat at the dinner table.

"I see you're up and runnin' quicker than ya' usually are, ya' lil' whippersnapper! How's pancakes fer breakfast?" Applejack's granny asked.

"I'd love some! Can I do the syrup this time?" Young Applejack rocked back and forth in her seat, anxious.

"You are a big girl, now ain't ya'? Come on over here." The older mare chuckled.

Applejack didn't hesitate in obeying. She hopped out of her seat and flew across the room to her granny. She watched with curiosity as the elderly mare poured in the batter and soon flipped it, revealing just how fluffy and golden it was compared to the light yellow liquid it was only minutes ago. After a few more flips, she scooted it onto a plate, buttered it, and then hoofed over the syrup.

"Now, do it jest like I showed yer'- nice an' easy, there." Her granny directed her.

Applejack focused, not letting anything distract her. She poured the light brown substance over the warm pancakes. As it landed on top of the yellow butter she watched as it drizzled down the sides and ran across the rest of the pancake. Lifting the bottle up, she had finished putting syrup on her pancake. "I... I did it, all on my own! By golly, I did it! Granny, did you see that?!" The young earth pony exclaimed.

"Yes, yes ya' did- now, Applejack, shush! You're gonna-" before the older mare could finish, a sound came from upstairs.

A high-pitched whine pierced through the building as the crying sound became louder and louder. Applejack's granny looked down at down with an angered face. The young filly cowered in her seat, smiling sheepishly.

"Like I was 'bout to tell ya'. You woke up your little sister now, see? Poor thang's probably as hungry as you, anyways. I'd better go git her." The elderly pony trudged up the stairs as guilty Applejack quietly sat in the kitchen, eating her pancake slowly. Her little sister had been born about a month ago, and ever since then, Applejack and her family had even more responsibility. Her older brother, Big Macintosh, Big Mac for short, had become like a father to the new member of the family. Applejack had also become a big sister. And their granny was more active than ever now with three growing grandchildren.

Applejack could never forget the day her parents left them behind. The pain, the horror- the guilt. She had never told them goodbye. She had never seen them move on, into their new lives. Her heart ached of the torture she had been put through when they left her... her brother, her new sister, and her granny- to survive, on their own. To run the farm. To be alone, from a mother's kiss or a father's hug. To be alone.

The young filly is torn away from her thought as her older brother enters the room.

"Mornin'." He says, not bothering to even stop walking.

"Mornin'. Are you goin' outside to work?"

"Eeyup."

"Well, I'd help ya', but today I'm going ta' school!" Applejack slides out of her seat and grabbing her plate, she carefully walks over and sits it in the sink. Before she can say another word to Big Mac, he is outside, staring his chores for today.

If only ma and pa hadn't ever left, we wouldn't be so overloaded with chores... Applejack thought. The older mare came down the stairs. Applejack had suddenly noticed that the crying had stopped.

"All she wanted was that darn binky... better than a diaper change, I suppose." The older mare chuckled to herself. "I've gotta make a pie fer ya' later to celebrate yer first day of school! But, I can't do that unless we git ya' to school, now, can I?"

Applejack sat in her desk nervously. School was almost over, and then a special thing the teacher called "recess" was about to happen. It was a sort of free time, play time- relaxation, even. The second hand on the clock above seemed to go as slow as it could possibly go, as if wanting to torture her- as if her parents leaving her behind wasn't enough in her life.

But then, it came. Little fillies and colts of all shapes and sizes ran outside- they invaded the swings, climbed up the slide, and just ran around, chasing each other. Some talked, some laughed- it seemed perfect, like Heaven- in a young child's mind.

The backstabbing hurts the most. Because that day- the day she finally felt free from her troubles about her parents, about everything that happened- ponies have to make it worse for her.

"You have a dirty, messed-up face!" A light-yellow earth pony with red hair teased.

"It must be a disease!" An orange pony with curly hair added.

"You're such a blank-flank! You're cursed face has more of a chance of being noticed than your cutiemark does!"

Ponies teased her- everything about her. Her parents going away, her freckle-covered face, her blank flank, her farm... her life. Everything.

"My little ponies! School's out!" The schoolteacher sung, smiling.

Applejack, with tears in her eyes, ran.


	2. Angel Kisses

A Cure For Tears, And a Bandage For Broken Hearts

The crisp autumn air came blowing lightly throughout the plantations known as Sweet Apple Acres. An elderly green earth pony with a pie for a cutiemark sat in a old, squeaky, wooden rocking chair inside of a white gazebo. The sweet aroma of apples traveled through the air above as a freshly baked pie sat on the open windowsill.

A small, orange filly came running onto the farm. Her freckle-covered cheeks were red, and tears poured down her face. Her eyes were squinted; she wanted to close them, but she needed to see. Her blonde hair was knotted and tangled, and a small whine came from her.

When the young pony realized who was sitting in the rocking chair, she leaped up and trotted as fast a she could towards the elderly pony. She climbed up into the mare's lap.

"Whut's wrong, sugarcube?" The green pony asked, with a slight country accent.

"Oh, Granny Smith! It was horrible! Jest horrible!" the filly replied, with the same way of speaking.

"Now Applejack, ya' need to calm down now. Slowly, tell me what happened to ya'."

"I... I was at school, a-and, I... I was laughed at." Applejack stuttered.

"Now then, why would anypony evah laugh at somepony as cute an' nice as ya'?"

"They... th-they said I have a dirty, messed-up face." The orange filly replied.

"Why did they say that?" The elderly pony was becoming frustrated with the dilemma.

"I have lotsa freckahs!" Applejack whined.

"Now now, Applejack. I'm sure they are jest jealous of your freckles, an' they tease ya' 'bout it so they don't feel as bad." Her granny tried to comfort her.

"No! Ah don't think so, granny. They said my face is diseased, and covered with sick spots, and that ah'm cursed." Applejack buried her face into her front hooves, beginning to sniffle.

"What a silly thang ta say! They're jest freckles. Applejack, now, don't let 'em bother you. Jest remember that you're special the way you are, and that nopony at all has the right to say you're not pretty."

"But ah'm not pretty!"

"Yes you are, sweetheart. Why don't you go help Big Mac with his chores out there in the field? He could use some pretty pony like you to help him."

"He's mah brother; he doesn't care. But ah guess I'll go... I need to work, anyways."

"That's the spirit, now!" The older pony said.

Applejack hopped down and wiped her face. She had quit crying, but her cheeks and eyes still had a light shade of pink covering them. As the filly walked into the field, somepony caught her eye.

"Why are you here?" She asked shyly, noticing a silhouette of a small pony in the distance behind her.

"Why are you here?" She repeated louder, realizing the pony couldn't hear her mumbling.

The pony stepped closer until he came into view. It was a young colt about Applejack's age. He was a light brown earth pony, with a darker brown mane and tail. He too did not yet have his cutiemark. His blue eyes looked at Applejack's face, and his facial expression turned from nervous to surprised. His jaw dropped, but no words came out.

"What? Are ya' here to make fun 'o me, too?" Applejack's green eyes began to tear up again.

"Wha- no." The colt said shyly.

"Then why'd ya look it me like that?" Applejack whined, not able to control her voice while crying.

"I- I was at school today. I saw you get teased..." He said, a little louder than before. He started rubbing his hoof into the ground. "I didn't tease you, though."

"So? Is that it? You came here to tell me you didn't tease me?" Applejack started to sniffle. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again. "I-I thank yer for not teasing me, but why'd you come all this way from the school to tell me that? It's not gonna make a difference. They already said I'm- I'm diseased... messed up... a-and... ah'm cursed!"

"I don't believe that." The colt spoke up. He began to walk over towards Applejack.

"Then what do you think? My face is hideous!" Applejack sat down, and closed her eyes as warm, salty tears ran down her red, freckly cheeks.

"Your face isn't hideous... it's rather... pretty. It just has angel kisses."

"A-angel kisses?"

"Yeah. Angel kisses... you've heard of that before, haven't you?" The colt sat down next to Applejack.

"No..."

"Well then, I think I should tell you. If you'd like to know, anyway."

"O-okay." Applejack sniffled.

"When a pony is born, it doesn't have any freckles at all. On one night, and only one night only, that a young pony sleeps, if it's super-duper special enough, it gets a visit. A pony-angel comes, and when it does, it kisses the pony. The kiss marks that are left turn into freckles."

"That's the most ridiculous thang I've ever heard of."

"I wasn't quite done. See, these 'pony-angels' aren't the kind of angels you're thinking of. Usually these angels are ponies that you've loved and that have passed on. They want you to remember them, so they leave freckles for you. Those freckles are angel kisses."

Applejack sniffled louder. Tears ran down her face at an accelerated speed unlike before, and her face turned completely pink, if not red.

"What's wrong? The story can't be that bad... can it?" The colt asked.

"I-it isn't that..."Applejack's quiet voice mumbled, "M-mah parents... died about a year ago..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." The colt wrapped his hoof around Applejack's neck.

"R-right after mah lil' sister was born. B-b-but..."

"It's okay. Everything's going to be alright." The colt interrupted, trying to comfort her.

"Before then... I had no freckles."

The only thing that was heard was the wind, which was slightly blowing. There was complete silence. As Big Mac sneaked some of the pie that still sat on the windowsill, Granny Smith climbed the stairs to check on Applejack's little sister, Apple Bloom, who was crying tremendously. The filly and colt couldn't hear it, though. They were out in a large field, far from the barn.

"I'm sorry." The colt said, breaking the silence around the two ponies.

"No, don't be. You didn't kill them, or tease me. What's there to be sorry about?" Applejack finally opened her eyes, and looked up onto the colt's face.

"I didn't mean to make you sad." He said quietly, now looking into Applejack's eyes.

"You didn't. When you told me the rest of the story, I had just remembered my ma and pa. But... I'm happy now." Applejack grinned a little bit.

"But how are you happy?" The colt became confused.

"Because now, m-my family... we're all together again. All thanks to you... uh, what's your name?"

"My name's Caramel."

"Oh, okay. I'm Applejack."

"Applejack... I like that name."

"Thanks... Caramel." This time, Applejack didn't blush from crying. No, she blushed from... Caramel?

"You're welco-" Caramel couldn't talk. He had been cut off by a sudden feeling both inside and out.

Looking down, he realized that Applejack had leaned over, and had began to hug him. His stomach filled with butterflies, and he too hugged her back. And no matter what anypony else said, Caramel believed that her freckles were beautiful. Then, he turned his head and kissed her cheek, because to Caramel, any kiss is a cure for tears, and a bandage for broken hearts.


	3. Father's Day

Father's Day

10 Months After "Angel Kisses"

Young Applejack sat in her wooden desk chair at school. Only ten minutes, and school would be out. The filly was longing to go see her dad; it had been almost a year since she had last seen him. Her bright green eyes watched the as the shiny, black second hand on the school clock behind the teacher's desk slowly made its way from the number five to the number six, halfway through the minute. The orange earth pony sighed; her back hooves tapped the floor as she was anxious to be out of school.

She looked out the window, which was on her left. A mare and a stallion strolled, and what looked like a young colt, younger than her, walked in between what looked like his parents. He and who was supposedly his dad talked with each other, while the mare only smiled, seeming satisfied, if not actually happy. Applejack sighed again, and turned around to look inside her classroom. Only about eight more minutes, and she knew she would be doing the same thing.

A few ponies passed notes; their teacher had strictly warned them to not talk. Another orange earth pony with curly orange yellow hair, Carrot Top, had received a note from a light yellow pony with red hair named Roseluck. When Carrot Top opened up her letter, a smile grew on her face as she was already eagerly writing back her friend, who seemed just as excited to get the reply. Roseluck snickered when she read what her friend had wrote. Glancing at Applejack before writing her back, the smile had grown wider.

Finally school was out. After sitting in her desk for what seemed like an eternity, the orange filly began running towards her home at the farm. But then, a thought hit her. She turned back around and nervously walked towards Roseluck.

"Hey, Roseluck... can I ask you a question?" The filly asked shyly.

"I don't know... can you?" Roseluck teased back, Carrot Top joining in on laughing with her best friend.

"Ha, ha. But seriously, I need your help with something." The filly asked, not in the mood for jokes.

"Hmm... what is it? And it is Father's Day, ya'know, so I had better get back home quick, ya'know." The pony said, suddenly acting sophisticated, her chin high in the air.

"Well... that's what I need help with." The pony confessed, looking down at the ground, feeling embarrassed.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Roseluck can totally help you with that! She's the best at advice! Right, Roseluck?" Young Carrot Top said quickly.

"Yup. So, whatcha need help with, country pony?" The red maned filly asked, acting nonchalant.

"Can I see your garden? I need something from it... if you don't mind." Applejack replied, becoming more embarrassed.

"See? Take a note here, Carrot. Ponies without their cutiemarks always come to the ponies like us; they know our special talents!" Roseluck paused a minute, then looking at Applejack, she continued. "But... you live on a, ya'know, farm. Why do you need to see my garden?"

"You... have... um... something I don't... and that I know my dad will like... just trust me." Applejack forced a smile.

"Okay... but don't get your hopes up. This stuff is for sale, ya'know. I ain't giving it out for free." Roseluck motioned for the two ponies to follow, and they did.

"Okay, here's my grapes, tomatoes... seriously, filly. You live on a farm! And, why my garden? Carrot Top over here just got her cutiemark growing carrots! She's probably way better than me. Besides, I thought your dad was-"

"What are those?" Applejack interrupted, not wanting to talk about her dad.

"Roses... like my name, ya'know, Roseluck. But seriously, this is for your dad. Give'em something he can at least eat! Stallions like eating, ya'know." Roseluck's face quickly had a grin grow on it. "Unless he's gay!" She teased.

"Hey! My pa's not gay! I have a ma! She's a mare! My pa's a stallion!" Young Applejack quickly defended, cutting off the laughter of Carrot Top and Roseluck.

"Okay, okay... I was just teasing." Roseluck sighed. "So, what do you want?"

"A rose... please."

"But guys don't like roses! It's Father's Day, not Mother's Day!"

"I know... and I'll come back and get a rose when it is. But please, can I have one?"

"Got a bit?"

"Yeah..." Applejack sighed.

"Hey, honey. You selling a rose?" Roseluck's dad asked as he walked into the small greenhouse behind Roseluck's cottage.

"Oh, hiya daddy! And yes, I just sold this here rose to Applejack!" She exclaimed, running towards the stallion. Applejack watched as the father and daughter exchanged a hug. She could feel tears forming in her eyes.

"So, are you having a good day, Carrot?" The stallion asked the orange filly standing next to Applejack.

"Yes, sir! In fac-" Carrot Top was cut off by Roseluck.

"Of course she had a good day today, daddy! What kind of stupid question is that, ya'know? I mean, she's at my house, ya'know. And it's not like her parents a dead like Applejack's over here, ya'know. And why'd you buy that rose if he's not even here? I mean, ya'know, that is the rumor. Been the rumor for, like, almost a year."

Applejack gasped. She didn't want to be here right now, with these ponies, with this feeling of woe crashing down upon her. Not here, not now. She could feel her face becoming red; her eyes flooded with tears as the painful memories came back of the horrific day her parents passed. She grasped the rose in her mouth, and ran out the door.

She couldn't hear what the other ponies were saying. She didn't even care. With the gift in her mouth she ran as fast as her legs would let her until she could be back on the quiet, peaceful farm.

She slowed down as she entered a forest near the end of the farm. She crept through it, careful not to step on anything. The sun was beginning to set, and she knew she wouldn't be able to see for so long. As she walked along, her heartbeat got louder, and her tears burned her eyes. But she wanted to see her father.

"Pa... pa? I know you probably can't hear me... I just want to tell you something." Applejack said, stepping forward. Her eyes closed to avoid both tears flowing out, and seeing the small, family-made graveyard at the very edge of the farm.

Two tombstones sat there; one right next to the other. One for Applejack's mother, and one for her father. She sat down between them, and after rubbing her eyes and nose, she whispered,

"Some ponies... just don't git it. They'll whine and cry; say stupid things they shouldn't to their parents. I know I did to, but... I shouldn't have. When you've been livin' life like I have for so long, you'll finally understand why I feel this way. Why I protect you when they're not even here... why I love you like as if you or ma never left me, still living here... I don't know why I'm down here today... I don't even understand. But I do know one thing... this father's day... is the first one that I haven't been able to hug you tightly or tell you that I love you. Well, I do love you; happy Father's Day, pa."

She sat down the flower in her dad's grave, and sat up. Glancing back one last time before going back through the forest, she smiled. The sun was set, and navigating through the forest was hard, but she did it. When she got out, she looked into the sky. Two comets illuminated the starry sky, headed from where Applejack came from behind the forest, and crossing over the Apple's barn.

"Goodnight, Ma. Goodnight, Pa. And Happy Father's Day." Young Applejack whispered, a single tear falling down her freckled cheek, as if kissing her goodnight.


End file.
